


All's Fair in Love & Warzone

by ace_writergirl



Series: Crossover Bees [1]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Bumbleby - Freeform, Call of Duty - Freeform, Crossover, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-26
Updated: 2020-05-26
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:14:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,702
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24394840
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ace_writergirl/pseuds/ace_writergirl
Summary: Yang and Blake are both professional Call of Duty players who have a definite appreciation for one another's talents.
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long
Series: Crossover Bees [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1761523
Comments: 14
Kudos: 76





	All's Fair in Love & Warzone

**Author's Note:**

> This is all TophsLegacy's fault. Since I love both the Bees and Call of Duty, I attempted a crossover. But I had a total blast writing it :)  
> Rated M cos it's Call of Duty, I guess. And swearing.  
> Some embellishment was taken with how competitions work cos I am so not someone who would ever take part in a Call of Duty competition. That would require skill.

“Welcome back to the _Call of Duty: Modern Warfare_ March Madness Invitational! I’m Roman Torchwick, your ever-enthusiastic caster and with me is my silent but deadly co-caster, Neo! So, Neo, what are your thoughts on the final thus far?”

“…”

“Couldn’t have said it better myself, Neo! Your insight is truly incredible. Let’s head back to the action for now. We’re into game five of the Warzone finals. There are only two squads remaining in our custom server final match. White Fang and Huntresses are currently tied on points. We have our top fragger, Yang Xiao Long, who- _OH MY GOD_! What a snipe by Yang Xiao Long, aka Ember Celica, to eliminate Adam Taurus, captain of White Fang. He does not look happy. Then again, Wilt is quite notorious for his rages. We are in a one v one, ladies and gents. It’s Ember Celica against Blake Belladonna, aka Gambol Shroud, who we know all too well is fiendishly sneaky. Neo, which way do you think this one’s gonna go?”

“…”

“Took the words right out of my mouth! Ember Celica is slowly approaching the cluster of buildings that Gambol Shroud is holding. Ember Celica making good use of the natural foliage to mask her approach. Let’s take a look from Gambol Shroud’s POV. Oh, she knows exactly where Ember Celica is and I’m pretty sure that this is going to be a- _OH MY GOD_ , she’s pulling out the rocket launcher! Will she be so daring? She sets her sights on Ember Celica. Will she fire? Not a popular choice to carry a rocket launcher in Warzone, let alone the late game but no one can deny that it is an effective strat. We’ve seen Gambol Shroud get a team wipe with one rocket on two occasions in this game alone. Oh, she’s swapping the rocket launcher for the sniper that her teammate had. RIP Lightning Lash, aka Ilia Amitola – that was a nasty headshot exchange between her and Weiss Schnee, aka Myrtenaster that took them both out of this final.

“Gambol Shroud lines up the sniper and takes the shot _and it’s a headshot!_ Ember Celica is down, White Fang take the Warzone Victory which gives them the extra five points to push ahead of Huntresses! What a match, ladies and gentleladies. Neo, what’s your take on both teams?”

“…”

“My thoughts exactly. It honestly could have gone either way. Let’s head to the stage now where Mercury will present our winners with their trophies!”

* * *

Yang sat back in her chair, removed both sets of headphones and rubbed her eyes. She grinned. She’d seen the flash of the sniper half a second too late. Gambol Shroud was a headshot magnet. If she didn’t get a headshot, it was on purpose. Yang couldn’t feel bad about losing a one v one to such a talented player. She’d still top fragged in every single game so she wasn’t too upset that her team had lost the Warzone comp.

“Hard luck, Yang!” Ruby, her sister, cheered from next to her.

“Eh, she had the better position. Circle favoured her.”

“Which is why I wanted us to rotate in twenty seconds earlier,” Weiss grumbled on Yang’s other side.

“Aw, come on, Weiss, we ended up getting a double team wipe by holding the edge. Those points meant that we had a shot at winning. We wouldn’t have come close otherwise.”

“I think you just wanted to add to your own tally,” Weiss snapped.

Yang sighed and shook her head. “Whatever, Weiss.”

“Are we good here?” Winter Schnee asked, walking up behind them, her hands clasped behind her back like some kind of military pose.

“I’m fine,” Yang said. “Your sister seems to have an LMG stuck up her ass. Sorry I couldn’t bring home the Warzone Victory, boss.”

“You played very well, Yang. We’ll debrief after the presentations. Let’s head there now.”

Yang stood up and stretched, smiling satisfactorily as her bones clicked back into place. She was really happy with her performance and the team had scored a tidy sum for their overall second place finish and her top fragging spot.

 _Good day at the office_ , she thought, following Ruby to the stage area. As they passed the stands, fans cheered and they all waved.

“Marry me, Yang!” she heard a girl scream.

It made her chuckle. Her fans were definitely intense and were way too interested in her love life, or lack thereof, so the marriage proposals were, regrettably, a common occurrence. Yang took it with a pinch of salt because her fans enabled her to do what she loved.

Mercury was up on stage, doing his whole spiel and Yang slung an arm around Ruby’s shoulders as they waited.

“After two days of fantastic competition, we have our winners of the _Call of Duty: Modern Warfare_ March Madness Invitational!” Mercury announced. “Please welcome to the stage your champions, White Fang!”

Yang clapped along with the rest of the venue. They were a very good team and well put together to balance each other out, much like Huntresses. Over the last year, most competitions had ended up with the two of them battling it out for first place. Yang really enjoyed having such a close competitor. Winning every single competition with no real challenge would get very boring very quickly for her. She enjoyed winning as much as the next gamer but she much preferred the adrenaline she got from playing against a really good player. And White Fang gave her that.

She watched as they walked on stage to collect their trophy. Adam Taurus, their captain, had an arrogant smirk on his face that Yang really wanted to smack off. She didn’t like him. Sure, he was a pretty good gamer but his attitude stunk. She wasn’t sure how he was able to work in a team, let alone be captain. She let her eyes travel up and down the glorious figure of Blake Belladonna who had followed him onto the stage.

_Brains and beauty. A deadly combination._

But a combination that Yang would happily succumb to. No one knew that she had a major crush on Blake, which had been stirring for the better part of two years. Blake had only recently become single after her breakup with Adam – no surprise there – and prior to that she’d been with Ilia. Yang was not a fan of showing an interest in people who were in relationships. Gamers who streamed often had their lives totally exposed so Blake hadn’t been able to escape the spotlight on her when she and Adam had broken up. In Yang’s opinion, she deserved so much better than that asshole.

“It probably comes as no surprise that our top fragger is once again, Ember Celica!”

Yang grinned and walked up on stage to collect her much smaller trophy. She didn’t mind. It wasn’t about her at the end of the day. Her high kill games were what had made her popular in the first place. She jumped up onto the stage and shook Mercury’s hand while accepting the trophy in her other.

“Yang, could we get a picture of you and Blake, please?” the event organiser requested.

“Oh, yeah, sure.” Yang looked at Blake and smiled. It wasn’t the first time they’d met – they were both professional _Call of Duty_ players after all – but Yang still found herself feeling a little nervous. She stepped next to Blake and their shoulders brushed. Out of habit, Yang rested her free hand in the small of Blake’s back – it was something she always did when taking photos. Blake didn’t seem to mind so she kept it there.

“You guys played a really solid final,” Yang said in a low voice, the flashes from the cameras forcing her to blink.

“You too,” Blake replied. “That second game was incredible. You guys absolutely dominated. Well, you dominated.”

Yang chuckled. She’d gotten forty kills that game. Everything had just fallen into place and White Fang had been eliminated pretty early on which allowed Huntresses to run rampant on the lobby.

“Thanks. That doesn’t happen too often in competition so I was happy to have some fun.”

“Well, if we’re not having fun then we’re doing it wrong,” Blake said.

Yang glanced at her and found that Blake was already looking back at her, a small smile playing on her lips. Yang grinned.

“Next time, Gambol Shroud, I’m not gonna let you win.”

“Oh, let me win? Is that what happened there?”

“I figured that it was only fair since no one was gonna beat me for top frags.”

“Do I detect a challenge, Ember Celica?” Blake teased.

Blake’s eyes were so captivating and Yang couldn’t look away – not that she wanted to. Yang bit her lip before realising that they were in front of hundreds of people and cameras were no doubt filming everything.

“You detect the highest admiration,” she said eventually.

“Ladies, eyes front, please!” the photographer called.

After that exchange, Yang was feeling bold and let the thumb of the hand resting on Blake’s back slowly rub the skin. If anything, Blake leaned in closer and Yang felt elated.

“Ladies, thank you so much.” Mercury walked in between them, forcing Yang to drop her hand. “Ember Celica, you must not have any space for these trophies anymore.”

Yang laughed. “Well, mine are all quite a bit smaller. All of them stay with the team’s trophies at Huntress HQ. It’s not about me, you know? My team allows me to be aggressive so while my name may be at the top of the list, it’s definitely a team effort.”

“Thanks for the entertainment, as always,” Mercury said. “Ember Celica, our top fragger, everybody!”

The venue erupted into cheers once more and Yang saluted before jumping down from the stage back to her team. She handed the trophy to Ruby who always inspected it. Her sister was adorable.

Yang glanced back up to the stage where Mercury was talking to Adam.

“Wilt, you must be proud of your team today, delivering the win?” mercury asked.

“We made it unnecessarily difficult for ourselves in the last two games but it’s clear that the superior team won,” Adam said, his tone practically dripping with arrogance.

“Ugh,” Yang muttered. “Like he even did much. Blake and Ilia carried him the whole fucking day.”

Pyrrha giggled. “Your jealousy is showing, Yang.”

“Of him? Definitely not. He’s an ass,” Yang replied. “Normally I don’t care who I kill in game but whenever I see his name pop up, I get a little bit of satisfaction.”

Pyrrha, Ruby and Nora chuckled. Weiss just rolled her eyes and folded her arms. Yang just grinned at her team. She truly loved their dynamic. She glanced back up at the stage and Adam was talking about his game, and how it was clearly a glitch that had given Yang the freedom to eliminate him. Without bothering to hide her dislike for him, Yang let out a loud laugh, which caused Adam to give her a dirty look.

Yang didn’t care – Adam Taurus was well-known for his shitty attitude and tendency to blame anything and anyone else for his mistakes. He was also a well-documented rager which boded well for the company that sponsored his PC gear.

Her eyes flitted to Blake who was looking at her with a small smirk. Yang winked at her and when Blake’s smile widened, Yang knew that she was absolutely going to give Blake Belladonna her number.

* * *

Blake knew that she was playing with fire by keeping eye contact with Yang so openly. She didn’t really care about what the fans did and said because her life was her own. She did know that Adam would take offence and perhaps that was partly why she did it.

Besides, Yang Xiao Long was fucking hot and Blake would be blind not to notice her. Which she did, frequently, at pretty much every competition they both attended. Not only was Yang an incredible gamer, she was funny and genuine. And yeah, totally smoking hot.

“Careful,” Ilia whispered in her ear. “You know he’s going to have a problem with whatever’s going on there.”

Blake rolled her eyes and looked at Ilia. “He has a problem with everything. I don’t care what anyone thinks, least of all him.”

“I know,” Ilia said, winking.

Blake grinned and met Yang’s eyes again which was pretty easy considering Yang hadn’t stopped looking at her. Blake loved playing against Huntresses because not only were they exceptional gamers, they challenged her ability. Blake’s speciality in team FPS was to be sneaky and pick off the difficult players. She was so good at it that even though other teams knew that was her role and targeted her, she still came out on top most of the time.

Yang was unpredictable and Blake looked forward to figuring her out.

_Both in game and out._

Her view of Yang was obstructed when Adam came to stand in front of her.

“What are you doing?” he asked in a low voice. He was very careful that his body language didn’t come off as threatening, which made Blake roll her eyes.

“I’m accepting a win, Adam. What are you doing?”

Once upon a time, she wouldn’t have dared to speak to him that way but after being on the same team as him for five years, she knew that his aggression and anger had no sway over her. He’d been intimidating when she’d joined White Fang but she’d done a lot of growing up. His bouts of rage and his tendency to refuse accountability for his actions were a big red flag for her.

“You think I didn’t see that exchange?” Adam hissed.

“I don’t really care what you think, Adam. We broke up six months ago. You’ve never had a say in who I talk to or what I do, and you definitely don’t now so back off.” Blake kept her voice low. Fans loved to speculate about drama with White Fang and while Blake had to agree that working with Adam was fast becoming tedious, she was under contract.

Adam gripped her arm, his body blocking the action from anyone who could see.

“You’re not going to make a fool of me, Blake.”

Blake jerked her arm free. “You’re quite capable of doing that all on your own. You don’t need my help.”

She pushed the trophy into his chest and walked off stage, trying to control her anger.

“Blake,” Ilia said quietly.

“I don’t know how much longer I can do this,” Blake hissed. “He’s a fucking lunatic who thinks he has some claim to me. We dated for a month. _A month_. He let everyone believe that we were together for so much longer and that the feelings ran really deep. Mine were superficial _at best_.”

“Blake, I know,” Ilia said, rubbing her arm comfortingly.

“I mean, Jesus. We dated for almost a year and we’re totally fine. Why can’t he let it go?”

“Because he’s a boy,” Ilia replied with a shrug. She smiled and winked. “Girls are way better.”

Blake thought about a certain girl with blonde hair and eyes that almost looked purple. “Girls are better,” she agreed.

* * *

Blake felt a lot better after a good night’s sleep. She had made a conscious decision that she was going to leave White Fang as soon as she was able. Her mom was a lawyer and knew her contract so she was going to head back to Menagerie after the tournament for a little break and to figure out her options. She was reading in the conservatory of the hotel they were staying in while waiting for her team. She’d woken up fairly early because she usually streamed from about four am and her body was used to it. The conservatory was wonderfully lit up by the morning sun and Blake enjoyed the warmth on her skin.

She had her headphones on so that people wouldn’t disturb her. It didn’t always work but she was hoping that common sense would prevail.

Taking a deep breath to clear her mind of any annoyance, Blake focussed on her book. She saw someone approach her in her peripheral vision and tried to ignore them. Hopefully they would get the memo and leave her alone.

The person knelt on their haunches next to Blake’s chair so she saw who it was. She pulled her headphones off and smiled. “Hi,” she said.

“Hey yourself,” Yang replied with that smile that made Blake’s insides jump. “So, we’re just heading out and while I know I could have sent you a DM on Twitter or Discord, I’m old fashioned.” She held out a folded piece of paper to Blake.

“What’s this?” she asked, taking it, purposefully letting their fingers brush.

Yang retained her grip on the paper for a moment while their fingers touched. “My number. I’d like to text you if that’s okay.”

“So okay,” Blake said immediately.

“Great.” Yang stood up slowly. “Have a great day, Blake. And congrats again on the win yesterday.”

“Uh, are you going to the April Fools tourney?” Blake asked.

“Yeah, I think so. Are you?”

Blake nodded.

“Excellent. I’ll, uh, see you then. Bye.”

“Bye, Yang,” Blake murmured, watching as Yang turned and jogged to where her sister was waiting for her. Ruby waved enthusiastically to Blake, who couldn’t help but smile and wave back. She watched as they walked out the doors and Yang turned back to her at the last second and winked.

_Oh, hell, yes._

* * *

The next two weeks were filled with text messages between Blake and Yang. They’d even managed to slip in a number of off-stream games of Fortnite and VALORANT together. They stayed away from _Call of Duty_ since they were on opposing teams and neither wanted to risk a breach of contract. Yang had to admit that it felt pretty damn awesome playing with Blake. The news hit Twitter pretty quickly that the two of them were playing duos and Yang was delighted that Blake didn’t seem to care.

Yang had dated a number of streamers and gamers who were so concerned with their public image that it infringed on their relationship. The relationship ended coming second or third and Yang wasn’t about that. While she and Blake definitely weren’t dating, they were sure as hell flirting and Yang loved every second of it. Blake was a breath of fresh air. She called things like they were and their calls at night, just before bed delved pretty quickly into emotional things. Yang talked about how her mom had abandoned her and her dad still struggled with the loss, and Blake talked about her brief relationship with Adam and how he’d been way more into it than she was. They talked about their dreams and aspirations. They talked about their families.

It didn’t take very long for Yang to fall head over heels for Blake Belladonna.

“What time are you arriving in Phoenix tomorrow?” Yang asked, getting comfortable in her bed.

“My flight lands at four-thirty but we all know that’s probably going to be delayed,” Blake replied with a laugh. “What about you?”

“Oh, we’re getting a ridiculously early flight. Ruby likes doing touristy things before a tournament and I guess that makes sense. If we’re travelling to all these different cities, we may as well enjoy them.”

Blake hummed in agreement. “And what are you looking forward to?”

Yang swallowed. “Well, even if your flight is delayed, I’m hoping you’ll have dinner with me tomorrow night? Or we could do drinks? We can stay at the hotel or go somewhere else if you’d like?”

“Yang, that sounds amazing. I’d love to go to dinner and/or with you.”

“Awesome.” Yang was grinning widely. “Uh, just to clarify, this would be a date.”

Blake laughed. “Well, good. I was going to treat it as one.”

“Excellent.”

“Very excellent.”

Yang glanced at her watch and groaned. “I have to be out of the house in seven hours. I’m gonna have to get some sleep because running around after my hyperactive sister is going to be exhausting.”

“If you’ll be too tired-“

“No!” Yang cut in. “Sorry. Uh, no. Wild bears couldn’t stop me from going to that dinner.”

“That’s really sweet,” Blake said softly.

“I have my moments.”

“You have a lot of moments, Yang.”

“Yeah?”

“Oh, yeah.”

“Well, good. Yay me.”

Blake laughed again and Yang felt like she’d won the jackpot. Yang hung up the phone pretty soon after that and fell into a sleep with dreams that she couldn’t wait to make a reality.

* * *

Blake checked her reflection in the poorly lit hotel bathroom mirror and nodded to herself. She looked good, if she did say so herself. She’d made a point of taking a lot of time and effort into looking good, when usually it was whatever she felt like wearing. But she wanted to look her best for Yang.

A smile crept onto her face as Blake thought about Yang. Even after only two weeks of texting, calling and playing a few games together, she was head over heels. She was pretty sure that Yang felt the same and it made her giddy with excitement at what the future held for them.

Blake was thankful that her flight had only been delayed by half an hour. It had given her plenty of time to get to the hotel and ready herself for her date. They’d agreed to meet in the hotel bar as they did have a competition the next day and neither coach would appreciate them going further than the hotel. Blake winked at her reflection and grabbed her purse. She opened the door and almost ran into Ilia who had her hand up to knock. Ilia took one look at her outfit and smirked.

“Well, I was about to ask if you wanted to go and grab a drink but it would appear someone else beat me to it.”

Blake grinned. “Sorry not sorry. Yang invited me out.”

“Awww, you’re totally into her,” Ilia cooed, stepping back to allow Blake to close her door.

“Oh, yeah.” Blake didn’t even bother denying it. She didn’t want to, honestly. She was young, successful and happy – the latter definitely had a lot to do with Yang Xiao Long.

“I’ll keep Adam away from the bar,” Ilia said.

Blake rolled her eyes. “I don’t care what he does or says and neither does Yang. He’s an immature child who can’t accept the fact that I am so far out of his league.”

Ilia laughed. “Please record his face when you say that because I want to see if he can actually turn purple.”

Blake joined her laughter. “I’ll see you later, Ilia.”

“Byeee!” Ilia trilled, disappearing into her own room as Blake continued to the elevator. The car reached her floor and she stepped in. As the doors closed, she saw Adam coming out of his room and smirked at how a scowl immediately took over his face.

She really didn’t care what Adam thought but she’d be lying if she didn’t enjoy seeing him so mad. He deserved every second of misery. He was a dreadful person.

The elevator reached the ground floor and Blake stepped out, heading immediately for the bar. She stepped in and saw Yang immediately. She was leaning against the bar, drinking a beer.

_Oh, God, she’s wearing a suit._

Blake swallowed as her eyes devoured every inch of Yang’s perfect form. One of Yang’s drawcards to her stream was that she did workout streams so Blake – and the rest of her fanbase – knew exactly how great her body was.

Blake took a breath and walked up to her. Yang had been lazily looking around the room but as soon as Blake came into view, her eyes did a very similar survey of Blake’s outfit. She’d dressed up a little with tight black jeans, stiletto boots, a tank top, covered by a leather jacket that was zipped up so that Yang couldn’t see the top was her own merch. Blake wanted to surprise her.

“Hi,” Yang breathed out once Blake got close enough.

“Hey you,” Blake replied.

They both went in for a hug at the same time and although they hadn’t ever had that level of physical contact before, Blake couldn’t deny that it felt amazing. She recalled the feeling of Yang’s hand resting on her back at their last competition and how she’d wished that it was a regular thing.

“Is it ridiculous how much I missed you?” Yang asked, pulling back.

Blake grinned. “Probably not since I missed you too.”

“Excellent.”

“Definitely excellent.”

“What are you drinking?” Yang asked, turning slightly to the bar but keeping her body language very much turned to Blake.

“Uh, I’ll have a beer, thanks.”

While Yang got them drinks, Blake took the moment to appreciate Yang’s suit. She wore it super casually but to Blake it looked like it had been made for her.

“Like my outfit?” Yang teased.

Blake just hummed and smiled, sending Yang a wink.

“Goddamn, woman. This is the part where I woo you, not take you back to my room and ravish you.” Yang turned and headed to an open table against the wall. It afforded them some privacy.

“You say that assuming I wouldn’t be in favour of you taking me to your room and ravishing me,” Blake replied as she followed Yang.

Yang put their drinks on the table and turned to face Blake, their chests immediately coming into contact with one another. Yang’s hands rested comfortably on Blake’s hips, keeping them together.

“You deserve to be wooed, Blake. You deserve to be treated like a queen. I will always follow your lead but I also want to do this right because you mean a great deal to me.”

Blake swallowed, not expecting the sudden rush of feels. “You mean a lot to me too, Yang. And if you want to take things a bit slow, I’m happy to do that. I…I really feel like this could be something special.”

Yang grinned. “Then we’re definitely on the same page.”

Blake breathed out a laugh as Yang released her. She was okay with taking things a bit slower but she definitely wanted to know what it was like to kiss Yang and she wasn’t sure how much her self-control was going to allow her to resist the temptation.

* * *

Two hours later, they were still sitting at their table. The table was littered with empty plates from the multitudes of snacks they’d ordered off the menu. The conversation had flowed easily and the tone was light and happy. Yang was having the time of her life.

“This is by far the best date I’ve ever been on,” she said.

Blake smiled. “We seem to be agreeing on quite a bit.”

“Excellent.”

She knew she overused the word but it was kind of her catchphrase so it was habit.

“Definitely excellent.” When Blake replied like that, though, Yang didn’t think it was too big a deal.

Yang’s phone vibrated and she pulled it out of her pocket. It was Ruby, reminding her of the time.

“Everything okay?” Blake asked as Yang put her phone away without replying.

“Yep, Ruby’s just being the ever-annoying little sister.”

Blake smiled. “You love her anyway.”

“Oh God, yeah. I love her to death. I’d do anything for her. I think the fact that we’re on different teams seems to matter to everyone else but us.”

“We don’t even talk about that, though,” Blake said. “And honestly, I’m glad because it means I get to learn who you are outside of Ember Celica.”

Yang smiled. “That’s what I want. I want you to know me. All of me. All the good and the bad.”

“Not sure there’s too much of that second one.”

“Thank you. I appreciate that you think that.”

Blake covered her hand, sliding her fingers in between Yang’s and as comfortable as Yang was handling a mouse and a controller, nothing felt as natural as Blake holding her hand.

“Is it weird that this feels so perfect?” Yang mused.

Blake cocked her head. “Ordinarily, perhaps. But we’re not ordinary and I think we both are at that point where we know what we want so why bullshit?”

“God, you’re so fucking perfect.” Yang stood up, pulling Blake into her arms. She felt so perfect there and Yang knew she was going to have a hard time letting her go.

Blake nudged Yang’s cheek with her nose. “I really wanna know what it’s like to kiss you.”

Yang inhaled slowly, pulling Blake closer to her. “I would really be okay with you doing all the necessary research to find a satisfactory conclusion.”

Blake grinned. “I love that you’re such a dork. And I definitely think that the levels of research that I need to conduct are not suitable for the public.”

“Oh, you need a special room?”

“Yes, one that has all the necessary equipment for me to do my research thoroughly.”

“What kind of equipment are we talking about?” Yang breathed out.

“A bed, definitely. Things like walls, dressers, showers, floors, sofas and the like could be factored in but primarily a bed. At least to start.”

Yang felt her body temperature rising very quickly. “I think that can be arranged.”

Blake’s lips were very close to her own. “There is one thing I need that we won’t be able to get here,” she said, regret in her tone.

Yang puled back slightly and frowned. “What’s that?”

Blake met her eyes and Yang had to swallow. “Time,” Blake said, slowly and deliberately. “My experiments are _very_ thorough and I tend to do them multiple times to make sure that I get the best result. And right here, right now, we have time constraints.”

“Oh, that just won’t do,” Yang said. “Real talk, Blake. What are your plans after this weekend?”

“I was going to head back to Menagerie to visit my parents,” Blake replied.

“Oh,” Yang said in disappointment. “How long do you think you’ll be gone?”

“I normally go for a week every second month just to catch up with family and friends there,” Blake said, letting her hands run up and down Yang’s arms. “And I would invite you to come with me but I worry that I won’t actually end up visiting anyone because I won’t want to leave the bedroom.”

Yang nodded slowly. “Do you want me to come to Vale once you’re back?”

Blake cocked her head. “I think I’d like to come and see what Patch is like, if that’s okay?”

“Yeah. Yeah, that would be more than okay,” Yang said with a grin.

“Excellent,” Blake said, smirking as she stole Yang’s catchphrase.

“Definitely excellent.”

“I think, Yang, that you should probably kiss me now before I spontaneously combust,” Blake whispered, her hands gripping Yang’s shoulders.

“Well, we can’t have that,” Yang said with a grin and leaned in.

Their lips were millimetres apart before Blake was suddenly yanked from her embrace.

“What the-“ Yang said in surprise.

She was met with blue eyes narrowed in anger and hatred.

“Adam, what the hell?” Blake hissed, wrenching her arm away.

Yang kept her cool and held his gaze. She wanted so badly to knock him on his ass but she knew that Blake wouldn’t appreciate that. Besides, Blake could fight her own battles.

“Blake, it’s time for you to go to bed,” Adam said, not looking away from Yang.

_Does this guy really think he’s intimidating?_

“You don’t decide where or when I go _anywhere_ , Adam,” Blake seethed and Yang wished that she could focus on something other than how hot Blake sounded when she got mad – at someone else, of course. She was going to ensure that Blake was never mad at her. “Leave me alone.”

At that, Adam turned around. “You are in my team, Blake, and _I_ say that you need to be in bed so that we can beat all these losers tomorrow.”

Yang rolled her eyes.

“Adam, get it through your skull or so help me. You are the team captain which means that the _only_ authority you have over me, a term I use very loosely, is when we’re playing in competition. Since that doesn’t start until ten am tomorrow, could you kindly _fuck off_ until then?”

Yang snorted, and the look of pure loathing on Adam’s face when he glared at her made her giggle.

“Go away, Adam. I don’t want you near me until I absolutely have no choice,” Blake said firmly.

 _I’m so gonna fall in love with this girl_ , Yang thought happily.

It seemed like Adam was going to argue further but he glanced around and Yang noticed for the first time that there were numerous eyes on them. She didn’t care – Adam was the one making a fool of himself.

“You’d better be upstairs in five minutes,” he growled, turning and walking away, purposefully shouldering Yang hard.

Yang didn’t even wobble off balance. “Oh, what I wouldn’t give to punch his stupid face,” she said wistfully to his back.

Blake slipped her arm around Yang’s waist. “While I would sit and watch with buckets of popcorn, he’s really not worth your energy.”

“Not gonna lie, Blake. Seeing you tear him a new one definitely got my motor running.”

Blake grinned. “Perv.”

“Yep.”

They both knew that Yang wasn’t but the harmless teasing was an element of their relationship that had started practically from day one.

“I’m thinking we deserve a reward after that,” Yang said. “How about I walk you to your room?”

Blake pouted. “Why not your room?”

Yang grinned, linking her fingers with Blake’s and guiding them out of the bar. “Because, Belladonna, as you so memorably mentioned, there’s not enough time in the world for me to do everything I want to do to you.”

Blake bit her lip and her fingers pinched Yang’s side. She didn’t flinch.

“God, you’re so hot,” Blake breathed.

“I’m nothing next to you.”

“Maybe we should have had this date after the competition was done because it’s going to be very difficult for me to concentrate on anything but ripping your clothes off and having my way with you.”

“While I agree with that sentiment, I’m still glad that we did this because any one-on-one time with you is very special to me.”

“Yang,” Blake said softly.

She turned and gave Blake a warm smile. They entered the elevator and Yang pulled Blake close to her, wrapping her arms around Blake’s waist and resting her forehead on her shoulder. Blake let her hands run up and down Yang’s back, causing Yang to hum in appreciation. The elevator dinged on the fifth floor and Blake stepped out. Yang stayed inside, though.

“I thought you were walking me to my door,” Blake said, raising her eyebrows and smiling.

“I’m all about chivalry and while that would be something I’d ordinarily do, I really don’t think I’d be able to stop myself from kissing you and I _definitely_ wouldn’t be able to stop myself from making love to you all night.”

Blake stepped back into the elevator, but Yang reached behind her and kept the door open. “When I come back from Menagerie, I’m going to visit you on Patch and we’ll take all time we want with one another.”

Yang smiled and tucked a strand of hair behind Blake’s ear. “That sounds perfect. For now, though…”

She closed the gap between them and kissed Blake softly. She kept a clear mind – which was incredibly difficult to do when she was kissing the most perfect girl in the world – and pulled away when Blake started pressing into her.

“You’re too enticing,” Yang said breathlessly. “God, I’ve never been so attracted to anyone in my life.”

“The feeling is very, very mutual,” Blake said, glancing back at her hotel room. “Ugh, okay. Dinner tomorrow though, okay?”

“It’s a date,” Yang said with a big smile.

“You bet your ass it’s a date. See you tomorrow.”

Blake kissed her cheek and walked out of the elevator. Yang leaned against the open door and watched her. Blake unlocked her room and winked back at Yang before disappearing inside.

Yang pressed the button for the seventh floor and grinned widely. “I’m gonna marry that girl.”

* * *

“Here are once again, ladies and gents. Welcome to the _Call of Duty: Modern Warfare_ April Fools Day Shootout! I’m Roman Torchwick, one of your casters and I’m joined, as always, by Neo, my triple-hair-coloured, actions-speak-louder-than-words co-caster! Neo, how have you been since we talked last?”

“…”

“Oh, marvellous. You’ll have to tell me more later. Right now, we’re gearing up for the final game in our first Multiplayer game round. We had all teams going head-to-head in Search and Destroy for this round. As expected, Huntresses and White Fang have easily dominated and are about to start the final for initial bragging rights! We’ve noticed that Ember Celica and Gambol Shroud have been particularly good thus far, currently joint top frags! Neo, do you think this could be a shift in the White Fang strategy?”

“…”

“Of course, you’re absolutely right. Far too early to tell. And wow! Huntresses have cleaned up the first round in under a minute! Ember Celica got five out of the six kills there. She’s on a mission, that’s for sure. Here we go, round two. Oh, and Gambol Shroud takes out Anesidora with a very sneaky C4. I don’t even remember seeing her plant that. Myrtenaster falls victim to Wilt’s powerful M4. Oh, and Ember Celica is out! She’s taken out by Gambol Shroud, who very quickly follows suit with Crescent Rose. We’re looking at a six v two situation. It would be quite the turnaround if Huntresses can pull this one-oh, no. Never mind. They’re all dead. We’re tied! This is quite exciting, isn’t it, Neo?”

“…”

“It’s like you’re reaching into my brain and taking the words before I can say them. Round three starts! And Wilt is out! Oh, that wasn’t a very smart move on his part. Ember Celica read him like a Sunday newspaper. And he doesn’t look too happy either. Uh, producers, I think ol’ Wilt is gonna need a new keyboard. Magnhild and Ember Celica are running rampant on the map right now, picking off any White Fang players still alive. They take the round. We’re at two to one. Round four begins and it seems that Ember Celica and Magnhild are going to try the same tactic. Ooh, and it works. Wilt is about to break another keyboard as he falls victim to Ember Celica’s 725. She’s an absolute beast with that weapon in close quarters. Oh, Gambol Shroud has picked out Ember Celica in her crosshairs but doesn’t get the shot off! Miló slides in and takes her out before she can fire! What a play by Huntresses. They’re up now four to one. Two more wins for Huntresses and that’ll give them a good boost in the standings to head into Hardpoint. We know Hardpoint is Gambol Shroud and Lightning Lash’s best game by far. I somehow don’t think Wilt will go down without a fight. Oh, wait…maybe he will as Ember Celica kills him with an easy headshot. Miló is roaming with her shield, looking to draw shots from the remaining White Fang players. I quite like this aggressive tactic from Huntresses. Miló draws a shot and _wow_ , Myrtenaster was there in a flash. I bet Miló is glad to have her team captain on her back like that. That brings-did I say something funny, Neo?”

“…”

“Oh, you know I didn’t mean it like that! Honestly. One track mind over here. Two players that haven’t made too much on an impact thus far are Ruyi Jingu and Tri-Hard. It would appear that their role is to shoot first and ask questions later. Based on the fact that White Fang have just lost another round and are five to one down, I would think that strategy isn’t really working for them. We’re heading into what could be the final round of this match up if Huntresses can win it. White Fang are hanging back in their spawn, forcing Huntresses to play aggressively. Ember Celica and Magnhild are leading the charge down the left flank while Miló and Myrtenaster take the left flank. Anesidora and Crescent Rose are taking the middle but hanging back a little should they need to provide support to either flank. Oh, wow. What a play. Myrtenaster, Magnhild and Crescent Rose just wiped Tri-Hard, Ruyi Jingu and Thief’s Respite almost at the same time. We’re looking at a six v three situation. It doesn’t look good for White Fang right now. Wait! Gambol Shroud has found an excellent sniping spot and just eliminated Miló and Myrtenaster. Ember Celica and Magnhild are close but it looks like Wilt is going to engage. This probably won’t end well for him. Yep, as expected, Ember Celica dispatches of him by cheekily sticking him with a grenade. He can’t be too happy about that.”

“…”

“You’re so right, Neo. He is a bit of a whiny cry-baby. But that seems to be what his fans enjoy. Uh oh, Gambol Shroud has spotted Crescent Rose and Anesidora and I can’t see them escaping her sniper shots. Crescent Rose is down and almost immediately afterwards, so is Anesidora. Suddenly, we’re looking at a three v two situation with Huntresses advancing on Gambol Shroud and Lightning Lash. Gambol Shroud has her sights on Miló but firing a shot now could alert Ember Celica and Magnhild to her location. Oh, sneaky. She throws a thermite and sticks Miló with it! Riot shields can’t protect you from those, I’m afraid. Two v two! Oh, this is an exciting round. Gambol Shroud also has a vantage point of the bomb site so it’s a choice now whether Ember Celica and Magnhild go for the bomb or focus on eliminating White Fang. Oh, interesting. They’re splitting up. Magnhild is heading for the bomb while Ember Celica is staying put. I feel as though this could go either way! What do you think, Neo?”

“…”

“Oh, you’re making me blush with all these innuendos. I’d say this is a family friendly casting but it’s _Call of Duty_ so no chance of that happening. Ember Celica has spotted Lightning Lash but Lightning Lash is focussed on the opposite direction. Will she dare? Oh, she does! Finishing move on Lightning Lash by Ember Celica. Oh, that’s just rubbing salt in the wound now. Gambol Shroud is pinned between Ember Celica and Magnhild. What is she going to do? She lines up the shot to take out Magnhild. Oh, that would mean a one v one against Ember Celica. What a treat. And Magnhild is down! This is it. Can Ember Celica take Gambol Shroud? Oh, she can, with a throwing knife no less! Well played, Huntresses. They take the first match up and sit atop our leaderboard. We’re going to take a short break and we’ll be back for Hardpoint in a bit.”

* * *

Blake rolled her shoulders as she washed her hands in the bathroom. Hearing Adam totally lose his shit because Yang kept killing him gave her a weird sense of pleasure. He was such an ass and if she wasn’t going to Menagerie to have her mom look over her contract, she would be heading back to Patch with Yang and spending the entire week in her bedroom.

Thinking about Yang and touching her and kissing her got Blake all flustered. She was _so_ attracted to Yang and while she’d experienced attraction before, it hadn’t been as all-encompassing as what she’d experienced the previous night. Thankfully, she was very adept at switching off her brain to anything other than the game when she was in a competition. Her focus was what had drawn Cinder Fall to her in the first place.

 _Five years with White Fang is enough_ , she thought. It was definitely time for a change.

“Uh oh.”

Blake’s eyes flew to the door and she grinned.

“Are two competing players allowed to be in the bathroom at the same time?” Yang teased, leaning against the doorframe.

Blake couldn’t actually handle how sexy Yang made _leaning_ look. She turned the tap off and shook the excess water from her hands while walking over to Yang. She grabbed the front of her shirt and dragged her into the closest stall. Well, there wasn’t much dragging. Yang came along quite willingly.

“God, you’re so hot,” Blake whispered, pushing Yang against the wall and kissing her before she had a chance to respond.

Yang responded enthusiastically and sucked on Blake’s bottom lip. Her hands went to Blake’s ass and she moaned when Yang’s _very_ talented fingers dug into the flesh. Their tongues played a game that seemed so familiar. Blake was addicted to Yang after only two kisses.

Yang pulled away. “Holy fuck. We have to get back.” Neither of them moved and Yang leaned down to suck gently on Blake’s neck.

“Uh, God,” Blake moaned. “Would it be unprofessional to disappear right now?”

Yang pulled back and smiled, pressing her lips softly against Blake’s. It was tender and sweet and had Blake’s tummy doing somersaults.

“The temptation to follow you to the ends of the earth is very, very difficult to resist but I can’t do that to my team.”

Blake nodded. “I know. I couldn’t either. I just want you.”

“That feeling is most definitely mutual,” Yang whispered, kissing her cheek. “You head out first. I actually do have to pee.”

Blake chuckled. “See you out there.”

Yang slapped her ass as she left the cubicle and Blake giggled.

_I’m gonna fall so in love with that girl and it’s going to be amazing._

* * *

“Right, listen up,” Cinder addressed them. White Fang were in a separate room prepping for the final round of the day’s Multiplayer competitions, Total Deathmatch. “That last final was far too close.” She narrowed her eyes at Adam. “Consider this a warning, Adam. You pull any of that showboating shit again and I will pull you from the roster.”

“You won’t do that mid-competition,” Adam replied smugly.

Cinder leaned forward on the desk. “Try me. Don’t forget who’s in charge here. Your little stunt almost cost us that victory which would have given Huntresses the win on a silver fucking platter. We know TDM is Ember Celica’s game so I want two of you hunting her down at all times. Rotate pairs. Adam and Blake are pair one, Ilia and Emerald are pair two and Sun and Neptune, you’re pair three.”

Blake pulled a face, which Cinder caught. She didn’t care. Adam had been a total dick all day and she was tired of it. What was ridiculous was that Yang was showing him up so easily, yet he still thought he was winning.

If Blake wasn’t such an honest and competitive player, she’d consider throwing TDM but she couldn’t do that to her team and the guilt would weigh down on her conscience. Besides, Yang would kick her ass if she did that. Blake knew that Yang loved the challenge that White Fang offered her so she was going to continue posing as much of a challenge as possible for Huntresses, but Yang especially.

White Fang and Huntresses had won all their match ups and ended up in every single final against each other. That was the general expectation though – they were by far the two best teams in the competition.

As expected, White Fang had won Hardpoint but Adam had bottom scored, which he had blamed everyone else for. Kill Confirmed was a see-saw affair. The lead flipped back and forth until Huntresses had started hunting in pairs with about fifty tags to go. White Fang had barely had a chance to counter before it was over. Domination was also a back-and-forth. Both teams took the lead multiple times. White Fang split into two groups and held two objectives which guaranteed them the win. With ten kills to go, Adam had eliminated Yang and tee-bagged her, much to the distaste of the fans and his teammates. Doing that had opened up a chance for Huntresses to take a second objective and swing the game in their favour. Thankfully, White Fang had held onto the lead. He’d done the same thing in their previous final against NDGO. Adam didn’t seem to think he’d done anything wrong though, and that, for Blake, was dangerous when playing with a team.

_How is he even captain, seriously?_

“One more game, guys. This round has been really solid. We’ve had consistent kills in each match and hit the kill limit well within time. Stick to the plan, get those killstreaks and we’ll come out on top.”

They filed out of the conference room and Blake checked the clock counting down the time to their next game. She still had ten minutes.

“Cinder, I’m going to the bathroom,” she said.

“Fine. Don’t be long.”

Blake glanced at the Huntresses bay and willed Yang to look at her. Even though she was talking to Ruby, Yang’s eyes flitted to her and Blake inclined her head slightly. She hadn’t seen Yang at all since their steamy make out session and that had been almost five hours ago.

Blake leaned against the sink in the bathroom and waited, tapping her fingers against the marble. Thankfully, bathrooms had been cordoned off for the competitors to use so no one else was in there. The main door swung open and Yang stepped in. She walked right up to Blake and cradled her face in her hands.

“Are you okay?” she asked softly.

Blake wrapped her arms around Yang’s waist and buried her face in her neck. “I’m so sick of playing with him.”

“I’m sorry,” Yang whispered.

“I just wanted to see you, to feel you.”

“I’m here.”

They stood like that for a few moments, just breathing each other in. Blake wasn’t stressed about the competition – she lived for competition. She was just so tired of dealing with Adam’s petty attitude. She was _so_ done. She planned to tell Yang her hopes to leave White Fang after the Warzone competition the following day. It wouldn’t be fair to discuss that kind of thing in the middle of a competition. She really hoped that her mom would be able to give her some good news.

Blake pulled back and let her hands run up Yang’s arms – she did love those arms – and rested on shoulders. “Dinner tonight?” she murmured.

“Absolutely,” Yang replied immediately.

“Excellent,” Blake replied with a cheeky smile, pulling Yang’s face towards hers for a kiss that started soft but soon became steamy. Blake felt like she couldn’t get enough of Yang. She just wanted more and more and Yang seemed more than willing to give it to her. Knowing that they had a final to play in about five minutes, Blake put a hand on Yang’s chest.

Yang just smiled and kissed her cheek before stepping away fully. Blake entangled their fingers together and walked to the door, hoping for a few more seconds of peace before the madness engulfed them once more. She pushed open the bathroom door and frowned at two faces she didn’t expect to see waiting for them.

“What’s up, babe?” Yang asked, stopping behind her. “Oh,” she added.

Blake sighed and Yang kissed her cheek before dropping her hand and following Winter back to the competition floor.

Cinder eyed her.

“What?” Blake asked wearily.

“I won’t ask if your head is in the game because that had clearly been going on a while and you’re just as good as you ever were.”

“I’m a professional,” Blake muttered, walking past her.

“We’ll talk more about this later,” Cinder said, following her.

* * *

“What a rush! Ladies and gents, _that_ is how you play a TDM final. Had we stuck to the standard seventy-five kills, that game would have been over in two minutes. Ember Celica was on a _rampage_. I don’t know what Winter Schnee put in her GFuel but it worked. Huntresses take a resounding victory in the final game of the day, winning the Multiplayer portion of our tournament on day one. Neo, what do you think of Ember Celica’s seventy frags?”

“…”

“Oh, absolutely. Wilt was none too pleased when she kept targeting him and Gambol Shroud. I was almost certain he was going to break another keyboard. Tomorrow is another day, however! The last time White Fang and Huntresses met in Warzone competition, White Fang came out on top. Will we see a repeat of that tomorrow or will Huntresses continue their winning ways after a stellar Multiplayer performance today? Tune in tomorrow, ten am PST. From myself, Roman Torchwick, and my delightfully chatty co-caster, Neo, have a lovely evening.”

* * *

After the team had collected their trophy and done all the necessary PR, Yang followed Winter into a conference room. She could see another two figures behind the frosted glass and it wasn’t too hard to guess who they were. Yang pushed open the door and nodded a greeting at Cinder Fall. She immediately walked over to where Blake was sitting and occupied the chair next to her. Blake took her hand and entwined their fingers.

Winter sat down opposite them, a few chairs down from Cinder.

“Ladies, we don’t have any say in your personal lives but you do understand our concern here,” Winter began.

“I’m gonna jump ahead of you,” Yang said. “Blake and I never talk about competition. We don’t even play _CoD_ together. We understand our roles just fine. We may discuss our teammates in a social capacity since Ruby’s my sister and Weiss, Nora, Velvet and Pyrrha are my good friends. Ilia is Blake’s best friend so we do talk about them but never in competition context.”

“We’ve never discussed plans, strategies, skills, anything. We just don’t talk about it. Even when we were just texting, it was about us, not some game we both happen to play.”

“And in the bathroom? You didn’t discuss _anything_ when you were both heading into a final?” Cinder asked.

“Well, my mouth was otherwise occupied,” Yang said.

Blake snorted in laughter.

_She’s goddamn perfect. Holy shit. I’m in love._

“I think out of anyone in these two teams, I would trust you two to remain totally professional. Yang, I’ve known you since you were a kid. Blake, I’ve followed your career very closely and had Cinder not snapped you up when you turned eighteen, I probably would have.”

Yang wondered for a brief moment how different her life would have been had she and Blake been on the same team from day one. She knew for sure that if they were to join forces now, they’d be unstoppable.

“We understand that it’s not just about the two of us. We have teams that depend on us, that trust us,” Blake said quietly. “It’s not fair for us to completely ignore them.”

“Yeah, that’s not who we are.”

Winter and Cinder glanced at one another.

“Well, we can’t forbid you from seeing one another. That’s totally unrealistic and frankly, none of our business. We’ve cleared that you two aren’t compromising one another or your teams but rest assured that if we suspect _anything_ , we’re not going to treat it lightly.”

“Understood,” Yang said with a nod.

“You won’t have to worry about that,” Blake reassured them.

“Okay.” Cinder stood up, as did Winter. “Blake, for what it’s worth, I’m really glad to see you with someone like Yang. You deserve to be happy.”

“Thank you, Cinder. That really means a lot. I appreciate it.”

Cinder nodded and followed Winter out of the room. Yang turned her chair to face Blake. “Blake Belladonna, will you be my girlfriend?”

Blake blinked and then smiled. “Yes. Dork.”

Yang grinned. “I didn’t want there to be any misunderstanding.”

She leaned in for a kiss and Blake eagerly reciprocated. “Good job today, babe. You were unstoppable.”

Yang lifted a shoulder. “I aim to impress.”

Blake laughed. “Give me half an hour to shower and then we can go to dinner. Sound good?”

Yang kissed her again. “Sounds perfect.”

* * *

Dinner had been simple but it was the best date Blake had ever had. Yang’s hand rarely left hers unless it was to cut her steak. The wine was beautiful and the company, well. Blake was a romantic at heart and she wasn’t shy to admit that she was pretty much in love with Yang already.

Conversation had flowed easily and Blake never felt uncomfortable. Yang was kind, genuine, funny and it didn’t hurt that Blake was so ridiculously attracted to her. The way that Yang looked at her and spoke to her made it easy to assume that it was the same for her. The thought made Blake giddy with excitement for the future. Yang was a partner that could keep up with her in every which way. Yang was someone who would constantly support her, especially if Blake happened to be better at something. Blake drained the last of her wine and grabbed her purse.

“Restroom,” she said, standing up.

“Shall I order dessert for you?”

Blake smiled and leaned down for a kiss. “Cheesecake to share.”

“Excellent.”

“Definitely excellent.”

As Blake walked to the restroom, she started thinking about how their worlds could so naturally intertwine. They could stream together since she and Yang generally streamed around the same time. They preferred the early hours of the morning when the community on their streaming platform was more welcoming and less toxic. She pictured them having their own rooms for streaming, but still visited one another frequently. Their supporters would go ape shit when they figured out they were together. Blake knew Yang’s community teased her relentlessly about being single and since Blake’s break up with Adam, she’d been pretty strict on anyone in her chat discussing her love life. He’d left a bitter taste in her mouth, one she was all too happy to be rid of in every possible way.

_Speaking of…_

She pulled out her phone and hit her mom’s speed dial. It rang three times before she picked up.

“Hi, Blake! How are you? How’d it go today?”

Blake smiled. She knew that she was super lucky to have parents that supported her career choice.

“Hi, Mom. I’m great. Spectacular, in fact.”

“Oh, you won? Lovely. I’m sorry that I wasn’t able to watch the livestream. Your father and I were busy in meetings all day.”

“That’s okay, Mom. We didn’t win, though. Huntresses did. But…I kinda feel like I won.”

“Oh?” the tone of Kali’s voice told Blake that she knew exactly what the reason was for her good mood. “And how is Yang?”

“She’s great,” Blake said dreamily, pausing outside the bathroom. “We’re great.”

“I’m so happy for you! She sounds lovely.”

“She very lovely,” Blake agreed. “So, I’m planning on visiting next week. I was hoping you might be able to squeeze me in at some point.”

“Like I need to squeeze in my own daughter,” Kali said with a laugh. “Oh, wait. Squeeze you in as my daughter or as my client?”

“Client,” Blake confirmed.

“I’ll arrange something on Monday, honey. I’m excited to see you and I’m sure your dad will be too.”

“I’m excited to be coming home for a bit too.”

“Will Yang be joining you?”

Blake grinned. Her mom was so subtle. “No, not this time. I’m going to visit her on Patch after I leave Menagerie.”

“Oh, so it’s serious?”

“I love her,” Blake said, surprising herself with the admission out loud.

“Baby, I’m so happy for you!” Kali squealed. “You can tell us all about her on Monday. Text me your flight details. You know your father will insist on fetching you from the airport.”

Blake chuckled. “Sure thing, Mom. See you guys on Monday.”

She hung up, smiling widely and walked into the ladies restroom.

* * *

Yang read an article on a new capture card coming out the following month and sensed someone next to her table.

“Oh, hey. Could we get the cheesecake to share?” she asked, looking up. She frowned. “Oh, you’re not the waiter. Unless you’ve finally realised the need for a career change?”

Adam sneered. “You think you’re so funny.”

“I do, actually,” Yang replied, folding her arms.

“You are _nothing_. I don’t even know what she sees in you.”

Yang raised an eyebrow. She was determined to keep her cool. She didn’t care if he insulted her to high heaven but she definitely had a problem with him talking shit about Blake.

“She sees an equal,” Yang replied. “She sees someone who treats her like she’s the goddamn best thing on this planet. She sees someone who isn’t threatened by how talented, beautiful and incredible she is.”

“She’s not better than me!” Adam said, raising his voice. “You’re not better than me!”

Yang caught a whiff of alcohol. _Great, he’s drunk. This is going to end well._

“Look, man. I’m just trying to enjoy my dinner in-“

“You shouldn’t even _be_ here,” Adam cut in. “I should be sitting there. I should be having dinner with her.”

Yang frowned in confusion. “Dude, you guys broke up months ago. You seriously need to let it go. She’s way better off.”

“Why, because you’re a girl?”

Yang laughed in disbelief. “No, because I treat her with respect.”

“I treated her like a princess,” Adam shouted and Yang edged her chair away from him. “I did _everything_ for her. All I wanted was for her to stay but she _left_ me. I _love_ her and she left me.”

Yang took a slow breath. Blake had told her all about how Adam had treated her during their brief relationship. He was controlling, belittling and insecure. His anger wasn’t only limited to gaming and Yang didn’t blame Blake for getting out when she did. She hated that they still had to compete on the same team but something told her that Blake was pretty done with that as well.

“Look, dude-“

“No, you look!” His voice carried across the restaurant, causing everyone to look at them.

Yang kept her eyes on him, though. He was clearly unstable and she wanted to be prepared for anything.

“You meddled in something you had no business meddling in. Blake was happy with me. She was! You poisoned her against me! It had to have been you. Sun and Neptune are too stupid to even come up with a coherent thought and Ilia is still too in love with Blake. She wouldn’t challenge me because she knows I’ll win. But you, you’re cocky. You think that you’re so great, that you know everything. Well, you don’t! Blake’s parents hate her career choice, did you know that? I bet you didn’t. Her favourite flower is a rose, which is so fucking cliché but whatever. She has a tattoo on her lower back. I know you don’t know about that because she would never fuck a bitch like you.”

“Adam!”

Yang took a calming breath and stood up, keeping her distance. Adam had turned to Blake, who was absolutely fuming.

“What the hell are you doing?” Blake hissed when she reached them. She immediately stood next to Yang who let her hand rest on Blake’s back as a feeling of comfort for them both. “I told you to leave me alone.”

“Blake, don’t be stupid. You need me. You still love me!”

“Oh, Jesus,” Blake muttered. “I never loved you, Adam. I barely even liked you. Our relationship, if you can call it that, was a mistake. I was feeling vulnerable and you preyed on that. As soon as I came to my senses, I dumped you. Do you remember what you called me? A bitch slut whore. Yeah, not just one, you called me all three. I have told you time and time again that we are over, that you never had any claim to me. Also, I am a _person_. I am not something you can attempt to control by being a bully.”

“No, you’re lying!” Adam shouted. He pointed to Yang. “She’s telling you all these lies about me.”

Blake shook her head. “She hasn’t said anything about you because you don’t matter to her. And you don’t matter to me. Either you leave me alone like I asked or I will take out a restraining order against you.”

“You bitch!” Adam yelled. He raised his hand and Yang jumped into action. She caught it and twisted it behind his back in one smooth motion.

“Bad move, asshole,” she muttered. “You _never_ raise your hand to a woman, especially not my girlfriend.”

Adam just laughed. “She doesn’t love you. She loves _me_. She’ll never love you.”

“Newsflash, dick. I never loved you. And I absolutely do love her,” Blake said.

Yang looked at Blake and grinned widely. “I love you too, Blake. And I’d totally kiss you if I wasn’t restraining this asshole.”

Blake winked at her.

“Oh, and by the way, Wilt, allow me to correct you,” Yang said to him. “Blake’s parents are ecstatic about what she’s achieved in her career, and are so, so proud – something you will never feel, I suspect. Her favourite flower is not a rose. It’s a belladonna because here’s a clue, it’s her family name. She has three tattoos; two on her back and one on her hipbone. She’s thinking about getting another one on her arm, though.”

“You’re lying,” Adam shouted. “You’re both lying. Blake, just tell her to let me go and we can go back to my room.”

Both Yang and Blake stared at him incredulously.

“I can’t actually deal with this shit anymore,” Blake muttered, pulling out her phone. Yang watched, keeping a tight hold on Adam as he started struggling. He had no hope of overpowering her, though, much as he may like to believe.

“Cinder, sorry if I woke you. Please could you come and retrieve your pet from the restaurant downstairs? He’s harassing me and my girlfriend _again_ , as well as about fifty other patrons. Thanks.” Blake hung up without waiting for a reply.

“Ladies, is he bothering you?” a security guard asked, walking up to them quickly.

“Yes, very much so,” Yang replied. “He’s drunk and ruining all these lovely people’s dinners.”

The security guard nodded and took over Yang’s hold on him. “Apologies that it took me so long to get here. I was on the other side of the hotel dealing with another matter.”

Yang nodded. “We appreciate that you’re here now. I’m Yang and this is Blake. If you need us, just let us know.”

“Of course. Will do.”

“Blake, what are you doing?” Adam yelled. “Don’t let them do this to us! Blake!”

The security officer dragged him away as he continued shouting and Blake groaned quietly. “This is going to be a fucking nightmare.”

Yang turned to her and enfolded her in a hug. “Just let me know what you need me to do, babe.”

Blake kissed her neck. “You’re doing it right now.”

Yang smiled and held her tighter.

* * *

“Good morning, ladies and gents! We’re back for day two of the _Call of Duty: Modern Warfare_ April Fools Day Shootout! We have five games of Warzone in custom lobbies to look forward to. As always, most points wins! Teams can get points with elims, surviving circle progressions and Warzone Victories. The two teams that everyone will have their eyes on will be White Fang and Huntresses! As most of you may already know, White Fang team captain Adam Taurus, aka Wilt, has been fired from the team with immediate effect following a video recorded last night of him being verbally abusive to his teammate and ex-girlfriend Blake Belladonna, aka Gambol Shroud, who was having dinner with Yang Xiao Long, aka Ember Celica, and it would appear that they’re now a couple. This-“

“…”

“Neo, I am most certainly _not_ a gossip. This is factual reporting directly influencing the competition today. As I was saying, this has resulted in a huge reshuffle for White Fang. Gambol Shroud takes over the team captaincy and Tri-hard steps in as the fourth for the Warzone games. Will this result in an upset or has the off-screen drama caused too many problems in White Fang? The first game is due to start in one minute!”

“…”

“Neo, don’t be ridiculous. I don’t believe everything I see on the internet. But I do believe five different video accounts of the same thing, and I do believe the press releases given by Gambol Shroud and Ember Celica. That boy has issues.”

“…”

“Uh, Neo, I don’t think that he needs to be _silenced_ , and I am, frankly, quite worried that was your primary solution to this problem. Oh, I’m getting something from the producers. Uh, right. Back to the game! Deployment in game one starts in five…four…three…two…one!”

* * *

Blake took her headphones off and rolled her neck. She hummed in satisfaction and stood up. She turned to her team. “Honestly, guys, all I can say is well played. You were all incredible out there and honestly, I think this is a fair result based on the games.”

Her team nodded.

“Agreed,” Cinder said, standing next to Blake. “I would like to thank you all for focusing on the game and not all the other stuff that’s happening within the team.”

“Cinder, we were always going to play better without Adam,” Ilia stated. “He doesn’t make us better. Blake should have been captain years ago.”

“We can’t change what happened years ago, Ilia,” Blake said, sending her a warning look. “I’m extremely proud to have played with you guys today. You all gave one hundred percent.”

“Did you?” Emerald sneered from next to Cinder.

“Pardon me?” Blake asked, blinking.

“Did you give one hundred percent or did you allow the fact that you’re fucking Yang to-“

“Emerald, enough,” Cinder said sternly. “Blake is a professional and so are you. Right now, only she is showing that. Keep yourself in line.”

Emerald just huffed and sat down. Blake shook her head and sat back down in her chair.

“Hey, don’t worry about her. She’s been into Adam forever and is pissed that he’s never noticed her,” Ilia whispered.

“Oh, God. I feel like I should warn her to stay away.”

Ilia smiled. “Or you could let the two of them self-destruct together.”

Blake pulled a face. “Ugh, people like Adam should not be allowed to socially interact. At least, not until he learns how to treat another human being with respect.”

“So, in other news, pigs have been spotted flying,” Ilia quipped, making Blake laugh out loud. “Come on, Captain, let’s go get our spoils and you can mack on your girl.”

* * *

Yang wrapped her arms around Ruby from behind and lifted her off the ground. Ruby squealed and laughed.

“You, sis, were absolutely incredible today. It’s like you were tapped into some superior power,” Yang said, bursting with pride.

“Thanks, Yang,” Ruby said shyly. “It was just one of those days, you know? Everything fell into place.”

Yang nodded. She’d had days like that and they were like a drug for any gamer. It was why they kept going back. They wanted to have that same moment again and again. It was intoxicating.

 _Hmmm, there is one other thing that is far more intoxicating_.

Yang glanced over her team’s heads and easily caught Blake’s gaze. She winked at her and Blake winked back. Yang blew her a kiss and Blake aimed a finger gun at her and pulled the trigger.

_Yep. Fucking perfect._

Yang mouthed _I love you_ which Blake replied in kind immediately.

“Well, well. What a weekend of competition!” Mercury announced from the stage. “Yesterday was a back and forth series of games that eventually resulted in Huntresses victorious.” A cheer went up from the crowd. “And today, we had five incredible Warzone games. Each were fought tooth and nail and at the end, we had a result that I don’t think anyone expected. Could I ask both team captains to come up and accept your joint first place trophies?”

Yang ruffled Weiss’ hair as she passed, knowing that it would rile her up and sure enough, she got a death glare in response. Yang’s gaze was quickly pulled away from her captain to Blake, who was walking onto the stage looking incredibly proud.

And so she should. Yang had been worried that Adam’s sudden departure mid-competition was going to create an imbalance for Blake and her team but they had stepped up in a big way. Yang was very happy with the final result. She couldn’t remember a Warzone final ever ending in a tie but after everything that had happened that weekend, it seemed fitting.

“Ladies and gentlemen, your first-place finishers – White Fang and Huntresses!”

Weiss and Blake hoisted the trophy and Yang cheered for her team and her girlfriend, along with ten thousand people watching.

* * *

“Ladies and gents, we’re back! It’s been a hot minute since we’ve had a _Call of Duty: Modern Warfare_ competition as Activision have taken much needed time to revise their anti-cheat policies. Those updates seem to be working a dream now and they’ve seen record numbers of players this last month. Neo! My ever-present co-caster! How have the last few months been treating you?”

“…”

“Wow, someone’s been busy. Not all of us have the luxury of a never-ending parade of social events to attend. Anyway, back to the competition at hand. Today will be the first time we’re seeing the brand new line up of The Hunt. Now, I know what you’re thinking. Who the hell are they? Well, a brief reminder to those who have been living under a rock for the last three months.

“After White Fang tied with Huntresses at the April Fools Day Shootout, the entire roster left White Fang and joined Huntresses. Now, Huntresses have prided themselves on being a female team but given the circumstances and the influence of one Gambol Shroud, changes were made. Huntresses became The Hunt and they are the team to beat. Not sure how anyone’s actually going to be able to do that because I’m pretty sure that the airtight combination of Ember Celica and Gambol Shroud cannot be beaten. Neo, have you been watching their streams?”

“…”

“How is tanning more important than witnessing gaming legends being made? Honestly. Well, ladies and gents, if you aren’t watching their streams, you should. Not only do they absolutely _shred_ in pretty much any FPS game they play, but they’re also super cute together and I don’t know about you but I can never see enough love in this world.”

“…”

“I am _not_ a romantic. How dare you.”

* * *

Yang reached across to Blake’s gaming station and grabbed her hand, linking their fingers together. Blake smiled at her in adoration.

“I love you,” Yang said.

“I love you,” Blake echoed.

They leaned in for a kiss, ignoring the cheers from everyone that could see them. After the video of Adam was leaked, there was no use denying that they were together. Their communities had been overwhelmingly supportive which had made the transition of teams that much easier. Blake had never signed her name on a piece of paper so quickly. The day that she was free of White Fang, of Adam and of Cinder’s enabling was one of the best of her life. It had only gotten better as she’d gone to Yang’s place that night and they hadn’t left her bedroom for almost thirty hours.

“You ready to rewrite the history books?” Yang asked, pulling away but staying close.

Blake smirked. “You think you can keep up with me?”

Yang grinned. “Oh, most definitely.”

“Then let’s rewrite history, babe.”

**Author's Note:**

> The series Crossover Bees will feature IRL reality shows and games featuring the Bees :) Already have three fics lined up so should be fun! If anyone has an idea of a crossover, let me know! I'm ace_hlnwst on socials :)


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